With nothing going on at the track right now with Nicanor and Lentenor, Barbaro's two full brothers in training, it gave us an opportunity to touch base with Headley Bell, bloodstock adviser to Roy and Gretchen Jackson, for a status report.
Bell said he did not know the current status of either Nicanor, who sustained a bruise and was scratched out of the Virginia Derby, or of Lentenor, the 2-year-old brother who had several workouts before trainer Michael Matz cut back on the training regimen.
Bell said Gretchen Jackson saw both horses this past weekend during a visit to Matz' training facility at Fair Hill and liked what she saw. "She is really pleased with how Lentenor looked. Apparently he has been training well," Bell said, adding that Matz likely backed off on his training due to the stage of growth Lentenor is in right now.
Mrs. Jackson, her daughter and granddaughter also were recent visitors to Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, where La Ville Rouge, the dam of Barbaro, Lentenor, and Nicanor, is kept, along with their full brother born earlier this year. La Ville Rouge has been confirmed in foal to Dynaformer, and has been determined to be carrying a filly, meaning that the Barbaro siblings could get their first sister.
"La Ville Rouge and the foal are doing very, very well," Bell said.
Meanwhile, the weanling colt, who is yet unnamed but is being referred to as "Babynor," has recovered from surgery for a hernia he developed as a result of an infected umbilicus.
"He is doing very well after that surgery," Bell said of Babynor. "He is going back through the process of rehab and is going into a round pen and then eventually will go into a paddock."
So that's all we know for now. I will be away from this blog for a little over a week, but our Web production folks will be monitoring the blog and posting your comments.
